Early modern Shanghai architectures and the millennia old Xumishan Grottoes in northern China were listed by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) as apart of the world's 100 most endangered architectural and cultural sites, in a list published Wednesday.

The watch list, published every two years by the New York-based non-profit organization, has this year singled out three threats to these sites: political conflict, unchecked urban and industrial development, and global climate change.

WMF listed some of Shanghai's structures from the 1920s to 1940s as historical landmarks that were endangered due to a lack of awareness and development pressures.

Shanghai, in its position as China's primary economic hub, is enjoying a remarkable period of economic growth. The flipside of this is that the authentic work of early Chinese architects lacks any long-term security, according to the WMF. 

As for Xumishan, a Buddhist enclave with more than 130 grottoes, its principal threats stem from exposure to the elements, vandalism and limited resources to protect the cultural site.

The grottoes contain statues, wall paintings, and inscribed steles that were made over a 600-year period between the fourth and tenth centuries A.D.

Although the Xumishan Grottoes were named a National Level Cultural Relic Protected Site in China, natural causes expose it to constant threat from wind and sand erosion, water damage, and earthquakes.

Previous emergency conservation measures, such as the reconstruction of some elements in concrete, may need to be halted and even reserved to protect Xumishan's authentic feel.

China's State Bureau of Cultural Relics has made protecting Xumishan one of its priorities and is trying to increase international recognition of this little advertised site.

The 2008 Watch List includes a number of sites threatened by global warming, among which are Sonargaon-Panam City, Bangladesh, Leh Old Town, Ladakh, India and New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Another damning example is the single inclusion of all of Iraq's cultural heritage sites, threatened by the violence ripping the country apart.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2007)